Keeping Awake

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Morning: Psalm 30, 32; Ezekiel 39:21-29; Philippians 4:10-20 Evening: Psalm 42, 43; John 17:20-26What
do you give to ‘someone who has everything’? He may actually have
everything, or maybe he simply has enough. Paul thanks the community in
Philippi for their kindness in sending him gifts. Then he goes on to
say that he doesn’t really need anything, because he has learned to be
content with what he has, whether it’s a lot or a little … but he’s glad
they sent gifts anyway because it’s good for them to give! In other
words, we may need to give more than the recipient needs our gift.

Evening: Psalm 35; John 17:9-19In my youth, few words of Scripture affected me as profoundly as these words of St. Paul: “Finally,
beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just,
whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if
there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think
about these things. Keep on doing the
things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and
the God of peace will be with you.” I’ve taken my eye off the ball many
times since, but Paul’s words are still a touchstone I rely on.

Jesus
and Paul both bid us to pursue what is life-giving – “where your
treasure is, there will your heart be”; don’t set your hearts on earthly
treasure … or Keep Your Eyes on the Prize! Paul’s phrase became
a popular Civil Rights song. Jesus’ call to ‘repent’ is about the same
thing … one writer says it means, “Change the direction in which you
look for happiness.” In other words, you won’t find happiness or
fulfilment in things. What prize (or ‘treasure’) am I after? Will it
satisfy my heart?

It may be no coincidence that the name of the Charles Dickens character, Uriah Heep in David Copperfield,
rhymes with ‘creep’. He makes your skin crawl with his “yer ’umble
servant” routine that has nothing to do with humility or service. He
reeks of falsehood. A proud person may tend to hide his true self for
shame. ‘Pride’ rhymes with ‘hide’. But the humble man is not ashamed
to be himself. The humble woman speaks the truth about herself. There
is nothing to hide when you know you’re lovable just as you are, warts
‘n’ all.

Morning: Psalms 26, 28;Proverbs 30:1-4, 24-33; Philippians 3:1-11Evening: Psalms 36, 39; John 18:28-38This
evening, Christians around the world begin a season of special
devotion, prayer and reflection – Lent – as the days ‘lengthen’ into
Spring. Light is growing, perhaps understanding too. The Gospel links
Jesus’ death with his “testifying to the Truth”. Pilate asks,
tantalizingly, “What is Truth?” implying Truth is unattainable. There
are mysteries here, the tale of the profound shared experience of a
small group of Jesus’ followers … Their experience of the life and death
of their master transformed their understanding, their lives, and the
world. Lent invites us to enter and, for 40 days, attend to their
world-changing experience.

An
old woman challenges a philosopher, saying we live on a crust of earth
on the back of a turtle. The philosopher wonders, “What’s the turtle
standing on?” To which she replies, “It’s no good professor … it’s
turtles all the way down.” St. Paul claims goodness comes from beyond us
yet goodness is at work in us. He says Jesus is goodness and humility
itself, in human form. Paul would be overjoyed if we humans could find
that same humility, our essential earthy goodness. And from there? …
Well, it’s goodness all the way down don’t you know?

Morning: Psalms 148, 149, 150; 2 Corinthians 3:7-18Evening: Psalms 114, 115; Luke 9:18-27How
complex we humans are. Sometimes, the face we show to the world is not
really our own, but a mask that hides our true self. Perhaps we are
ashamed of who we are, or we do not really know who we are? We may have
spent our lives presenting an image that meets others’ expectations;
religion can sometimes cause this. Jesus says you may have to lose
yourself to find yourself – that is, lose the mask and let the ‘real
you’ be known. Be yourself, the one you were made to be.